Building a Bookmarked Life

Making the Cut

Do you ever wonder why you try some diets and exercise regimens and don’t see the results you expected? I’ve talked before about my past attempts at diets and what’s working for me now, as well as the sort of workouts that work for me, but it really is interesting to see how different programs work for different people.

My husband thinks Jillian is weird looking, but she puts out really good fitness resources so my apologies if you’ve seen enough of her products featured this week on A Spirited Mind! Anyway, I have read her book Making the Cut before and didn’t really like it then, but I was looking something up about metabolic types and remembered the book went into that issue in detail. I’m glad I decided to read it again.

Basically, metabolic type is the way your body uses the types of macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) you give it. Different people metabolize those nutrients differently, which is why some diets work for some people but not others, and why what helps your friend lose 10 pounds might make you GAIN 10 pounds.

What I found super helpful was the survey in the book to help you determine your metabolic type. Usually when I take a survey I take it for myself but also try to answer the questions as I think my husband would, and, interestingly, we are opposite metabolic types. This was like a revelation to me! All this time I’ve been thinking that my job was to get the man to eat a hearty breakfast, but come to find out his metabolic type does better with a very light breakfast or none at all, and tends to get grumpy when forced to eat a big meal in the morning. Weird!

The metabolic types are broken down into Slow Oxidizers, Balanced Oxidizers, and Fast Oxidizers. This is not the “slow metabolism” thing you’ve heard of in the past – fast oxidizers can be overweight and so can slow and balanced oxidizers. In case your interested, here are some characteristics of the types:

Slow oxidizers:

A higher percentage of carbs in their diets helps them feel energized and alert,

Caffeine makes them focused and alert,

Prefer sugary candies like Skittles,

Sleep is disturbed if they eat before bed,

Can skip meals with no problem,

Get lethargic, sleepy, or irritable when eating a meal with lots of meat or protein,

Prefer to snack on sweets,

Strongly dislike sour foots like pickles, lemon juice, vinegar,

Often get goose bumps,

Have thick fingernails,

And other stuff.

Balanced oxidizers:

Do best on diets with equal percentages of protein, fat, and carbs,

Don’t have the “symptoms” associated with food intake that slow or fast oxidizers do.

Fast oxidizers:

Do best on diets with a higher percentage of protein and fat,

Caffeine makes them jittery or nauseated,

Prefer sweets like ice cream,

Often get insomnia, which is helped by eating before bed,

Eating sweets before bed can keep them awake,

If they skip meals they are shaky, weak, irritable, have major sugar crashes,

Prefer to snack on something substantial like cheese, eggs, nuts,

Love sour foods,

Tendency to get lightheaded or dizzy,

Have thin fingernails,

Get especially strong reactions to insect bites,

And other stuff.

Isn’t that interesting? There is more in the book – pages and pages of it. After the survey, the book includes ideas for how to structure your diet for your metabolic type, including recipes and fitness routine suggestions.

The end of the book also includes peak strategies for getting really cut for an event or photo shoot or something. Unless you’re a swimsuit model or you totally lied about your measurements and now you’re stuck with a bridesmaid’s dress that is way too tight, I am not sure how useful this section would be to most people. Jillian does explain different supplements people try to take when losing weight, and what is worth it what isn’t.

I think the book is useful for it’s metabolic type section, and might be helpful if you’re the sort of person who can put together a fitness program based on instructions and pictures in a book. Personally I really need the videos, so that section wasn’t a draw for me. If you’re interested in nutrition though, it might be worth checking to see if your library has this book so you can look through the metabolic type section.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

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A Spirited Mind is all about balancing your reading life. Find great book recommendations. Read as a family. Discover new interests. Be changed. After all, as Montaigne said, "A spirited mind never stops within itself, it is always aspiring..."